Battle of Albany

The Battle of Albany was a battle of the American Revolutionary War that took place on 16 July 1775 in Albany, New York. The Continental Army force of General Nathanael Greene moved out of Boston and marched on Albany, the provincial capital of New York, where he defeated Charles Cornwallis' army and seized New York for the patriots.

Background
Nathanael Greene was given command of the large Continental Army and militia force in Boston following the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, and the Continentals marched into New York to liberate the province from Great Britain. General Charles Cornwallis had been given command of the British garrison of Albany, which consisted both of British regulars and Tory militia, and he was besieged in Albany in July 1776. The Continentals, with a strength of 541 men, besieged the 405-strong garrison of Albany, hoping to free New York from the Tories.

Battle
The Americans moved to a hilltop, where their artillery unlimbered at a position with a strategic view of the fort. Greene decided to send dragoon captain Constant Dinsmore to circle the fort from its right side in order to make it appear as if he was about to launch a flank attack against the Tories and British regulars, drawing away some British troops. Greene proceeded to send his forces to storm the walls, defeating the Tory militia at the front wall while the regulars attempted to chase the dragoons. On the left side of the fort, the patriot cavalry were attacked by the British cavalry as they moved to meet up with the dragoons, and they defeated the Tory provinical cavalry. Afterwards, the patriots moved through the front gates after securing them in a bloody melee battle that saw the Tory militiamen fight to the death, and the Patriots succeeded in charging the British forces in the center of the forts. The dragoons dismounted and climbed over the rear wall of the fort, and they succeeded in securing the center of the fort as the Tory militiamen and British regulars engaged the patriot militiamen. The Patriots secured Albany, liberating New York from the British.